Description

The Dorze Tribe: The Dorze are a small ethnic group inhabiting the Gamo Gofa Zone (formerly part of the Semien (North) Omo Zone) of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region in Ethiopia. They speak the Dorze language, an Omotic tongue.According to Ethnologue, the Dorze numbered 29,000 individuals (1994 census), of whom 9,910 were monolingual. They primarily live in the southern parts of the country, though some have migrated to Addis Ababa and other regions. Many reside in villages near the cities of Chencha and Arba Minch.Weaving is a primary profession for a number of Dorze. Their polyphonic multi-part vocal music features a sophisticated use of hocket. Dorze is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in the Gamo Gofa Zone of Ethiopia.Alemayehu Abebe reports that while performing preliminary fieldwork in 1992, he found 14 kebeles in Chencha woreda with Dorze speakers. Well known cotton weavers, the Dorze tribe were once warriors. They are famous for their cotton woven cloths and beehive huts. The Dorze people live in large communities north of Addis Abada. They cultivate their own food and prevent erosion by terracing along the mountainside. In their farmlands, the Dorze will grow highland cereals. They also grow spices, vegetables, fruits and tobacco within their compound.Women of the Dorze tribe have most of the responsibility in the family. They must take care of any children and all of the house choirs. The women are also responsible for cooking, spinning cotton and collecting firewood. Male tribal members spend most of their time on the farm or building huts. Sometimes you will find them weaving material to use for different things. The Dorze people wear colourful toga robes called shammas. They are very popular throughout Ethiopia. A Dorze hut is made up of hard wood poles, woven bamboo, enset and other natural materials. It can stand two stories tall and last up to 80 years. Inside theA beehive Dorze tribe hut main hut, you will find a fire place, a seating area and bedrooms. Smaller huts can include guest houses, a workshop, a kitchen and even a cattle shed. When termites attack the hut, the Dorze can just remove it from its foundation and relocate it. This allows the home to last much longer, but every move shortens the height of the hut.